Hello
I'm trying to sell my car (Volvo S60 in the Cars For Sale thread). I've started 3 weeks of advertising on Autotrader, being advertised at £2750 ono, and have received the following by email today. My feeling is that it's bogus but I'd appreciate opinions!
Message to me this morning,
Happy Sunday to you,
I am really interested in your Vehicle listed for sale on auto trader website.
I will like to know if you still have it for sale.
Are you the first owner?
Did you have all the paper work and the receipt of purchase for documentation?
What is your last asking and the present condition?
The area for the pick up and lastly the reason for offering it for sale.
Thanks and i look forward to hear from you today ASAP
Cheers
Mrs Tilley
My message back,
Hello Angela
Thank you for your email. Yes, the car is still for sale.
As the advert says, I've owned the car since February 2008. The car was a Volvo demonstrator initially, followed by the second owner in July 2002.
Also, as the advert says, the car has a full service history with stamped service book and paperwork. I'm unsure by what you mean by the receipt of purchase?
The asking price is £2750 ono.
The car is in very good condition.
I am located in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
It is for sale because I have a new car.
Hope to hear from you soon, Chris.
Her email reply back,
Good Afternoon,
Thanks for your quick response and am also excited to hear from you that the vehicle is still available for sale.
And thanks for the information you just gave about the vehicle and am quite delighted to hear from you that the vehicle is still in great conditions.
The reason why am purchasing this vehicle is because My self and my partner just need one additional vehicle.and also we will be relocating back to my husband native country country in Italy. i am from Llanfairpwll in Anglesey. i am so used to RHD Vehicle before i got married to my husband.i am in need of a car in British design "RIGHT HAND DRIVE" which is going to be easier for me to drive in italy as soon as we relocated by towards ending of next month.
Please i want you to email me more pictures aside from the one on web advert page if is still available both the exterior and interior.
Due to my condition i will not be able to view the vehicle at present because i'm heavily pregnant,and the distance as well.Please understand my predicament.My personal circumstances do not allow me to travel,Like wise my partner would not be available to view the car at present due to the nature of his work .
According to the Features of the vehicle and the Full Description of the vehicle which i saw on the advert page i'm fully satisfied.
I want you to accept my offer of £3,000 inclusive the advert fees just because I know what the worth of the vehicle ,and also for you to reserve the vehicle for me.The only way you will release the vehicle to any one is when the cash is in your hand, i.e. payments cleared at bank, and withdrawn.
I will only required your full name and your postal address, as for payment status am okay with a British Certified Bankers draft issue here in local bank in United Kingdom and it will take maximum of "FOUR" working days for processing by your bank to get the money ready to you my bank advised.Please note that you will only release the vehicle until you have received confirmation from your bank that the payment has been given value and cleared.
I hope to hear from you today in order to proceed further with the payment and shipping arrangements as soon as possible.
I look forward to hear back from you today.
Cheers
Mrs Tilley
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Difficult one this isnt it
you advertise for £2750 ish
you get offered £3000
unseen
mm
now let me think about it a bit
a=b but c is the answer
?// no must be really really genuine
on the other hand why not just ignore future email responses and not put your email address to chancers in adverts in future
i sure dont give out email addresses in my adverts
texts from idiots are bad enough and easily ignored but emails are a drar-g
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Its a scam.
Export + bankers draft = scam
Export + western union = runamile
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 18:29
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Well, thanks.
I'm not green, I have sold several cars before.
The email address isn't in the Autotrader advert, there's just an 'Email Seller' link.
I understand that being offered more than the advertised price isn't right but what's the scam then?
Last edited by: Chris White on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 18:30
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the bankers draft is fake.
The key here is the wording of the add, its all flowery and ultra ultra polite and nice.
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So, they're expecting me to give them the car before the bankers draft clears?
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A fake bankers draft can be cleared by your bank, and you can withdraw the money, only for the draft to be declared fake some weeks later and you are then £xxxx in the mire depending on how much you drew out.
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Of course, she'll send you £6K and ask you to send the change to someone she owes £3K to.
Naturally, you'll send it and your bank will tell you her cheque's cleared...when it hasn't.
Difficult call ! Should be OK, after all, Tilley isn't a Nigerian surname.
The car is of no interest to them.
Ted
Last edited by: silence of the cams on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 18:34
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Is Llanfairpwll the new Nigeria ?
Llanfairpwll is the abbreviation that the locals use for Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwll on Anglesey - I'd be very surprised that your average Nigerian would know that. In fact I'd eat my Welsh hat !
Reckon it stinks though.
Last edited by: Pugugly on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 19:20
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Taffs a: do not write like that b: do not offer more money than its worth c: pay in bankers drafts.
Even taffs from anglesey
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She does say that they'll wait for the bankers draft to clear, which sounds good to me but offering more than the asking price and not seeing the car feels very funny to me..............
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It would appear unlikely a Mrs Tilley would start an email with:
Happy Sunday to you
and end it
Cheers
Mrs Tilley
What engine is in the car >2 litre is quite expensive in Italy so importing a right hander is unlikely.
Last edited by: gmac on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 19:23
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Well, I was thinking it was odd that a lady would want to drive a 2-litre Volvo S60 in a foreign country, surely something smaller would be more suitable?
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It's very, very simple:
bit.ly/bmWFyA
Do not touch this with a disinfected barge pole, unless it's with the co-operation of the police - take your e-mails to them for a giggle, and see whether they're interested.
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Thank you all for your responses, especially FotheringtonTomas through whose link I found this website link,
baheyeldin.com/technology/technology-in-society/classified-ad-scam-for-used-car.html
This shows the exact same wording used in the emails to me but with a different name and for a different car!
Brilliant! :-)
Last edited by: Chris White on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 19:41
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>> This (site) shows the exact same wording used in the emails to me but with a
>> different name and for a different car!
It shows how widespread these scams are. Flippin' awful, if I may say that. I am surprised that The Farce to not set up "stings".
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I find it funny how I've had my car advertised on several different website (including eBay) and not had anything dodgy but within two days of advertising on Autotrader I get this!
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I'd send them a copy of that link and ask for comments... also say that you've forwarded it to the Police!
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>> My message back,
>>
>> Hello Angela
>>
>> Mrs Tilley
>>
How do you know her name is Angela - it isn't mentioned in the email - or have I missed something?
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All the signs of a scam. As others have pointed, very strange non-English style of writing -Happy Sunday etc. As an aside why does she want to know why you are selling it? Same with idiots who put "Genuine reason for sale" in adverts. Do people sell things without a reason?????
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>> How do you know her name is Angela - it isn't mentioned in the email
>> - or have I missed something?
Because her email display name is Angela Tilley.
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>>>funny how I've had my car advertised on several different website (including eBay) and not had anything dodgy but within two days of advertising on Autotrader I get this!
From what I've seen recently Autotrader is now far worse than Ebay for both scam sales and buyers.
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I reckon I've had at least 2 of these for every car or bike I've sold in the last 5 years. They are a fact of life, unfortunately.
I used to wind them up and waste their time for a bit, but can't be bothered any more. Thump the delete key, and move on.
I found a site on the web a couple of years ago where one guy in America really went to insane lengths to suck in one of these scammers. As in registering web domains, and setting up fake phone numbers pretending to be shipping companies and various representatives of his. Played along for long enough to make the scammer think he was on to a win, then started making the scammer jump through all manner of unreasonable hoops, including having the scammer post photographs of himself with various derogatory messages around his neck, and various other stuff.
The whole thing was blogged as it was done. It took hours to read it all, but very very funny.
I have no sympathy for these people.
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I understand this is a scam, but what I don't understand is how the bank can 'clear' the forged draft and then 'unclear' it.
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That's the bit that catches people out, but apparently they can. I would have accepted cleared funds as just that until I found out about this scam.
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I'm no expert but I'm aware the banks have the right to reverse many payment types even when they have passed the period we'd assume make them cleared. It's caught out loads of folks. Many folks are anti cash but I've been handling it in largish sums for over 35yrs so always ask for it.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 19 Jul 10 at 09:16
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Begs a question or two, doesn't it?
When can the cleared draft be deemed to be finally and absolutely paid?
After a week? A month? Six months?
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Seems to be a recent thing... during my days in "branch" I can't remember any time a draft was returned... but we're talking 15 years ago now... I'd have thought that the only way would be to deposit the draft in the branch that was supposed to have issued it and then ask them to verify that its genuine... probably some central London branch in most cases... I'm glad I don't have to deal in cars costing more than a few hundred these days!
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>> I'm no expert but I'm aware the banks have the right to reverse many payment
>> types even when they have passed the period we'd assume make them cleared. It's caught
>> out loads of folks. Many folks are anti cash but I've been handling it in
>> largish sums for over 35yrs so always ask for it.
>>
The rules have changed recently so that there is a shorter recall time on cleared cheques. Not sure what it is for banker's drafts.
I can't find out where I read it though.
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It does mean that dealing in cash is the only way to sell a private car these days then, or to go to the bank with the person buying the car and obtain a bankers draft or cash there and then.
Last edited by: Chris White on Mon 19 Jul 10 at 10:10
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you have to wary of cash, lot of good fakes out there.
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If selling in cash, conduct the transaction in the bank. Pay the cash in directly, there and then, and have the buyer stand there as you do it, and when the cash has been accepted, pass the keys and documents over.
Safest way.
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>> you have to wary of cash, lot of good fakes out there.
So it's do the deal during the day, go down to the bank and obtain a bankers draft over the counter or take the cash off the person in the bank and pay it in so that bank can check for forgeries.
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>> I found a site on the web a couple of years ago where one guy
Another very good one: www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/
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When I sold the Fabia a couple of years ago we did it by electronic transfer... he collected a couple of days later and there were no problems... if anything it was him trusting me... I could have run off with £6k if i was on the fiddle!
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With all the scams to look out for I can see why people would sell to the likes of webuyanycar even if they know they might get more in a private sale.
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Not to mention the nutters / timewasters ringing up or coming round.
JH
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>>>>Not to mention the nutters / timewasters ringing up or coming round.
Am I the only one who *qualifies* prospective buyers on the phone and weeds out the nutters/timewasters so they don't come to look??
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>> timewasters
What the hell's a "timewaster"?
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>> What the hell's a "timewaster"?
This --> 27bslash6.com/overdue.html
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That's all about spiders and e-mails.
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Isn't it obvious?
The writing is all flowery and clearly written by some African con-man who has a false impression of what polite English should be. He refers to "Vehicle" - capital V, another sign of English as a second language, and a suggestion that the email has been sent to thousands of people.
There are numerous other little clues.
I've stopped using Autotrader because of the constant stream of calls and emails attempting to defraud me of the car.
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>>I've stopped using Autotrader because of the constant stream of calls and emails attempting to defraud me
Oh dear. I was thinking of putting the Corsa in there.
What do you suggest? The owner's not too keen on ebay.
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Bathtub,
Try this.
www.fish4.co.uk/
I sold a bike on fish4bikes. I think it was free.
You'll get these scammers everywhere, though. Just got to evaluate replies.
Ted
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>>I think it was free
Fifteen quid now! Not my car. Not my money. I'll probably try it, thanks.
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>>>What the hell's a "timewaster"?
No timewasters isn't a phrase I like to see in the ad however to me they are....
The guy who wants to come with his brother in law who spent a month in Kwik Fit on yts so *knows all about the mechanical bits*.
The guy who's never driven a Discovery before but fancies trying one.
Anyone who wants to view in the dark.
Anyone who has yet to sell their old car because in truth many folks have neither the money nor confidence to bridge the transaction.
The guy who will want to have a chat with his dad/uncle/dog to borrow the money.
The guy with the bank draft already made out for the full asking price.
The guy who will ask if I can hold it for a week until his Mrs gets back from wherever.
Anyone who voices concerns about any aspect of my car.
There are a lot of them about.
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Autotrader car sale - am I being scammed? - Bellboy
